Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1887-06-10
81 AM WANTED TO PREACH THE WORD.


II AM WANTED TO PREACH THE WORD"
As for the two sentries, he had them tired
by court martial and set them to make forti-
cations for the rest of the rebellion. They
can neither of them now hear the name of n
clergyman mentioned without breaking out
into perfect flood of blasphemy.
Luckily for John, although he had been
delayed for five minutes or more, he man.
aged to overtake the cart in which he pre-
sumed the bishop was esconced. His lordship
had been providentially delayed by the break
ing of a trace; otherwise, it is clear that his
self nominated chaplain would never have
got through the steep streets of Heidelberg
that night The whole town was choked up
with Boer wagons, full now of sleeping
Beers. Over one batch of wagons and tents
John made out the Transvaal flag futtering
in the night breeze, and emblazoned with the
appropriate emblem of all OK wagon and an
armed Boer, marking, no doubt, the head
Quarters of the triumvirate. Once the cart
"..'"i Oh MN was stopped by a sentry ana
'oinc conversation ensucd. Then it went on
again; and so did John, ummolested. 1t was
weary work, that journey through Heidel-
berg, and full of terrors for John, who every
moment expected to be stopped and dragged
off ANONYMOUSLY to Jail. The horses, too,
were dead beat, and made frantic attempts
to turn and stop at every house. But, some
how, they got through the little place and
then were stopped once more. Again the
first cart got on ahead, but this time John
was not so lucky.
"The pass said one cart" said a voice.
yah, yah, one cart" answered another.
John again put on his clerical air and told
his artless tale; but neither of the men could
understand English SO they went to wagon
that was standing about fifty yards away to
fetch somebody who could.
"Now, inkooS," whispered the Zulu Mouti
"driye on! drive on"
John took the hint and dashed the horses
with his long whip; while Mouti, bending
forward over the splashboard, thrashed the
wheelers with a sjambock. Off went the
team in spasmodic gallop and had covered
hundred yards of ground before the two
sentries had realized what had happened.
Then they began to run after the cart shout
ing, but were soon lost in the darkness.
John and Mouti did not spare the whip,
but pressed on up the stony hills on the Pre-
toria side of Heidelberg without halt.
By / o'clock they reached hotel, or way
side house, known as Ferguson's and situated
about twenty miles from Pretoria. 1t was
empty, except fora couple of cats and a stray
! dog The inhabitants had evidently fled
from the Beers. Here John stabbed and fed
his horses, giving them all that remained of
the forage; and then, once more, started on
| for the last stage. The road was dreadful :;
and he knew that the country must be full of
hostile Beers, but fortunately he met none
1t took him four hours to get over the twenty
miles of ground: but it was not until he got
| IN ,,,to
Pretoria, that he saw vestige of Boer
Then he made out two mounted men riding
along the top of a precipitous stone strewn
ridge, some COO yards or SO from him. At
first he thought that they were going to de-
scend it, but presently they changed their
minds and got off their horses.
While he was still wondering what this
might portend, he saw puff of white smoke
float up from where the men We're, and then
another Then came the sharp. unmistakable
ping" OF bullet passing, as far as he could
judge, within three feet of his head, followed
| by u second ping" and cloud of dust be-
meath the belly of the first horse. The two
Beers were firing at him.
lie did not wait for any more target prac-
tice, but, thrashing the horses to a canter,
got the cart round projecting bank before
they could load and fire again. After that
he saw no more of them.
| AT last he reached the mouth of the Poort
and saw tue prettiest of the South African
| towns, with its red and white houses, its tall
clumps of trees and pink lines of blooming
rose hedges lying on the plain before him, all
set in the green veldt and made beautiful by
the golden light of the afternoon, and he
thanked God for the sight. He knew that he
was safe now, and let his tired horses walk
slowly down the hillside and across the bit of
plain beyond. To his left were tho Jail and
barfack sheds, and gathered about them were
hundreds of wagons and tents toward which
he drove. Evidently the town was deserted
and its inhabitants in danger. When he got
within half mile Or SO picket of mounted
men came riding toward him, followed by a
miscellaneous crowd on horseback and on
foot.
"Who goes there9" shouted voice in honest
English.
"a friend who is uncommonly glad to see
you" he answered, with that feeble jocosty
we are all apt to indulge in when a great
weight is at length lifted from our nerves.